2014 June Issue 54

Historically fish processing has tended to lag

behind its fellow high-tech agricultural food
processing. Here in Ireland there has been a
marked contrast between the global food giants
located in our diary and meat sectors and our
largely basic treatment of fish products. That is
set to change with the arrival of the proposed
largest marine food ingredients facility in the
world.
Food ingredient prices continue to rise in tandem
with a continuing shortage of quality protein
which has created a significant opening in the
market for the output which this new venture
can deliver. The demand is driven by a rapidly
rising global population and an increasing
awareness of health and wellness issues world-
wide. The increased focus on health and rising
demand for foodstuffs high in healthy content
has led to rapid growth in the health and sports
nutrition market. Already leading food producers
in Europe and the USA are supportive of the
venture and enthusiastic about entering into
supply contracts with it. Seafood has long been
recognized as a primary source of high quality,
A Giant Step on a Global Stage for Irish Seafood
Described as a game-changer by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine,
Simon Coveney TD, at the information launch in Killybegs on 9 May last, Bio-
Marine Ingredients Ireland (BII) promises to be a major player in the economic
fortunes of south Donegal in coming years. BII is the result of a partnership
between Killybegs Fishermens Organisation and the Norwegian firm Biomarine
Science Technology (BST). The new company has recently announced the
appointment of Mr Jason Whooley, current CEO of Bord Iascaigh Mhara, as CEO
designate; Mr Whooley will take up his position later this year.
Launch of Bio-marine Ingredients Ireland in Killybegs. From l to r: Minister Dinny McGinley TD , Martin Howley,
Chairman and interim CEO, Sean ODonoghue CEO of KFO, Arne Petter Holli MD Biomarine Science Technology
Ltd. and Minister Simon Coveney TD
uncontaminated proteins, fats and essential vitamins
and minerals which can be produced by the planned
business enterprise.
The technical expertise in the development of BII has
been supplied by BST which has many years of
experience in the pharmaceutical, marine biotech and
international commodity business. This know-how
will enable the proposed Killybegs plant to produce
fish oil, calcium and high-grade proteins; there are
immediate outlets for these premium products in the
sport nutrition, pet food and industrial and
pharmaceutical fermentation industries. There are
excellent grounds to believe the production of
marine-derived proteins at the Killybegs plant will
quickly progress to new and innovative bioactive
ingredients to fuel the current explosion of research
into a new generation of pharmaceutical drugs being
developed to replace many of the now ineffective
antibiotics.
KFO is constantly exploring ways to improve
economic opportunities for its members. It was
proactive in developing the boarfish fishery and
commissioned and provided a considerable amount
of scientific data. As a result, Ireland now has 70 per
cent of the quota which amounts to 88,000 tonnes
this year. Boarfish will form the basis of the supply of
raw material for BII resulting in a considerably
improved financial outlook for those fishermen
involved. Blue whiting can also be used in the
process which will assure continuity of supply.
The development of the BII plant represents an
investment of between 30 and 40 million. A
substantial portion of this investment has been raised
locally which is a good indicator of the confidence of
the local business community in the project. There
will be substantial spin-off benefits throughout the
area with a projected 50 construction jobs followed
by at least a further 50 highly skilled technical and
scientific staff required to operate the plant. The
facility, based on a Norwegian design, will be a state-
of-the-art Clean Process with emphasis on minimal
environmental impact ensuring no waste or pollution
and noise levels below allowed standards. BII intends
to collaborate with appropriate academic and
technical institutions to maintain its cutting-edge
position both technically and in the market place.
Following a planning application over the summer
months, BII hopes to commence construction work in
2015 with completion and plant commissioning in
late 2016 or early 2017. The company is currently in
discussions with Enterprise Ireland and Bord Iascaigh
Mhara on the provision of state aid support.
ICES Issues Advice for Demersal and Herring Stocks for 2015
2014 Boarfish Acoustic Survey
The fourth annual boarfish acoustic survey is
scheduled to take place from July 10-31, on
board the MFV Felucca. Similarly to previous
years, the survey will link up with the RV Celtic
Explorer off the west coast. This effectively
extends the Malin Shelf Herring Acoustic
Survey to the south, which will result in
continuous coverage from approximately
58.5N to 47.5N. The combined survey
transects will be over 4,500nmi and cover an
area of approximately 90,000nmi
2
. The primary
aim of the survey is to determine the
distribution and abundance of boarfish within
the area covered. Over the past three years a
comprehensive and adaptive survey design has
been established to cover not only core
abundance areas but also peripheral areas to
contain the stock.
The importance of maintaining the survey series
cannot be over emphasised, and this years
survey is again funded by the industry. The
boarfish acoustic survey and associated projects
have significantly advanced the knowledge and
understanding of this species. The survey
biomass estimates are an integral part of the
boarfish stock assessment which is presented to
the ICES Working Group on Widely Distributed
Stocks (WGWIDE) each August. Continuation
of the survey series should ensure that the best
possible data is available for use in the
assessment.
In addition to the standard biological and
abundance data, additional genetic samples of
boarfish will also be collected. These will be
added to an existing collection of samples that
have been gathered during the past four years
of the boarfish project. These samples are
currently being analysed in University College
Dublin with the aim of determining the
presence of stock structure in boarfish. This
would help clarify some of the key remaining
questions about boarfish including whether the
long term changes in abundance are the result
of population expansion within the northeast
Atlantic or immigration from other stocks, and
do the distribution limits of the current stock
management unit match the genetic population
structure of the stock. The extent of fine-scale
population structure within the current stock
area also needs to be assessed.
These are some of the final pieces of
information needed to ensure that the fishery is
accurately and effectively managed so that its
sustainable future can be secured.
ICES has released advice on demersal and herring stocks for 2015. Advice for the remaining
pelagic species will be released in September, along with advice on rays and skates. The
remaining species, including Nephrops (prawns), monkfish in IV and VI, and megrim in Rockall
will have advice released in October. Advice includes discards, where information is available.
After many delays and lengthy negotiations the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) was finally delivered by
EU Regulation 508/2014 on 15 May. The EMFF provides a proportion the finance that will help deliver the objectives
of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and that will support the implementation of the EU Integrated
Maritime Policy (IMP). Member states co-finance such projects and must provide an Operational Programme (OP) by
late 2014. The total EMFF for the period 2014 2020 is 6.5 billion; Ireland has been allocated 148 million which
is a significant increase on the EFF support during the lifetime of the previous CFP.
2
In reading the ICES advice it is important to be aware of
what is meant by catches, landings and discards. For
ICES, catch includes discards. Landings is the term used
for the retained proportion of the catch, and discards
represents the rest. As far as possible, ICES tries to give
advice on catches (including discards). However ICES
also gives advice on the landings, and in cases where
discards are not fully quantified, only landings advice is
given. In a few cases, such as sole, there are few
discards and catch and landings are equal.
Same Advice as Last Year
The combined advice for the two monkfish species in
VII and VIII remains unchanged leading to combined
advice of 37,450t. Megrim in IV and VIa advice remains
unchanged (7,000t catch, 5,950t landings).
Advice for plaice and sole in 7bc is for 30t. landings
each, and plaice 7h-k (135t. landings) also have status
quo advice.
Cod in Rockall (70t.), whiting in Rockall (11t.) Pollack
(VI and VII) landings of 4,200t. Sprat in VI and VII
continue to have advice of 3,500t, though a TAC has
not been set yet. For Norway pout and for sandeel in VI
the advice remains no increase in catches and catches
in recent years have been zero.
Cod and whiting to the west of Scotland, along with
cod, whiting and sole in the Irish Sea, still receive 0-TAC
advice as their stock sizes to be below limit reference
points.
NW herring gets the same advice as last year (0-catch).
The rebuilding plan developed by the FIF and the PRAC
and used by the EC in the past two years gives a catch
of 90t. in 2015.
Decreases Advised
Advice for cod in the Celtic Sea is down 48 per cent on
last years TAC, but the total catch cannot be advised
upon. Haddock in this area is also down 41 per cent on
last years TAC. For whiting in this area, there is only a
small reduction to 18,501t (14,230t landings). However
when the advice for VIId (eastern English Channel) is
included, this brings the TAC up to 17,742t. (landings).
The hake advice represents a slight decrease on last
years TAC to 78,457t (landings) in 2015. Full catch
advice cannot be given, because the discard levels are
not fully known.
Herring in the Celtic Sea advice is for a 31 per cent
decrease, applying the MSY approach. The long term
management plan gives a 30 per cent reduction. Irish
Sea herring is down 8 per cent. Herring in VIaN is also
down, with a catch advised in 2015 of 22,690t.
Advice for sea bass in the Celtic Sea is down on last
years advice to 1,155t, though no quota has yet been
set for the species. For the other sea bass stock in VI and
VIIbcjk, advice is down to 7t. from 18t. advised last year.
Haddock in the Irish Sea advice is for catches of 893t,
implying landings of 425t. Saithe in IV and VIa sees a
decrease in advice to 80,097t. (catch) and landings of
72,854t.
For megrim in VII and VIII, ICES cannot quantify the
resulting catches, but states that landings should be no
more than 15,180t. Plaice in the VIIfg advice is for
landings of 420t. (catches of 1500t.) Plaice in the Irish
Sea is at 394t (catch 1,244t.) Sole in VIIh-k is also down
to catches of 225t. Sole in VIIfg is subject to a large
reduction of 35 per cent.
Increases Advised
Rockall haddock sees an increase of 142 per cent.
However the TAC for VIa haddock will need to be
agreed at an EC level because the stock has now been
merged with the North Sea stock for assessment
purposes. This means that ICES has issued advice for the
areas combined showing an increase. ICES did not
attempt to split the advice according to area, and has
asked policy makers (essentially the EC) to issue
guidelines on how a split may be done. This will have
implications for the VIa haddock TAC. The combined
advice for the North Sea, Kattegat and VIa is for
54,580t, with landings of 48,176t. This is an increase of
about 7 per cent on the combined TACs in 2013 for
these areas.
The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Published
The overall amount of 148 million comes already
allocated to a set of categories; for instance,
Investment in the seafood industry 71 million
Data collection 32 million
Control and enforcement 37 million
Implementation of the IMP 5 million
Storage aid 1.3 million
This breakdown does not itemise an important innovation
contained in the reformed Common Fisheries Policy,
namely the introduction of Production and Marketing
Plans (PMP) which will be supported by the EMFF. These
plans will help professional organisations such as Producer
Organisations (POs) with the day-to-day implementation
of the CFP reform goals and allow them to manage their
activities in a business and market-oriented manner. Such
support will enable POs to function at a more effective
level ensuring their members a better organised industry
which will be reflected in improved economic outlook and
more sustainable stocks.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
(DAFM) has made substantial progress on preparing an OP
beginning with an extensive consultation process with all
stakeholders in 2013. In broad terms DAFM have identified
implementation of the new CFP, in particular the landings
obligation and achieving MSY, matching fleets to available
resources, managing inshore fisheries and the protection of
the marine environment and its biodiversity, as the
overarching areas to be tackled in the 2014 2020 period.
The specific challenges facing the fishing industry have
been well considered and funding will be available to
support actions to facilitate compliance with the landing
obligation such as more selective fishing gear, support for
POs, a healthier economic future by adjusting fleet size to
match resources and reduction in costs by helping reduce
fuel consumption. For the inshore sector the FLAG
framework will be enhanced with support for fishing
communities, development of coherent marine tourism
and local seafood activity through micro-enterprises. All
these goals, while directly relevant from an Irish
perspective, are fully in line with the EU Commission vision
for the future of maritime communities which has been
summed up as:
Growth and jobs both in fisheries and in other sectors
of the maritime economy
Local Innovation new things done for the first time in
the local context
Environment as an development asset; local
conservation schemes
More support for the development of local strategies,
networking
It is hoped when the current OP is finalised in the near
future it delivers many of the ingredients needed by the
Irish fishing and seafood industry to face the challenges
ahead and strengthen efforts to achieve targets set by the
BIM strategy and Harvest 2020.
Nephrops Underwater
Television Going to Plan
The Marine Institute has developed
underwater television surveys to assess
and provide management advice for the
main Nephrops stocks around Ireland.
This year the surveys are planned in three,
ten-day legs. The first of which took place
from 8/06/14-17/06/14. This survey
successfully covered the Porcupine,
Galway Bay, Slyne and most of the Aran
grounds. The second leg departed Galway
on 25/06/14 and is due to land in Cork on
04/07/14. So far the survey has
completed the Aran grounds and has
covered the majority of the Labadie
ground. The final survey will be
18/08/14-27/08/14, again targeting the
remaining areas of the Celtic Sea. The
Marine Institute will also be participating
on the AFBI survey in the Irish Sea east
and west at the start of August.
Once the surveys have been completed
the burrow density estimates at each
station over the whole grounds are used
to estimate the total abundance of
Nephops burrows. This in turn will be
used by ICES to give catch advice for the
Nephrops stocks in November. Details of
last years surveys are available on
http://oar.marine.ie/handle/10793/59/br
owse?type=title&submit_browse=Title
KFO AGM
The KFO held its Annual general meeting
on May 30, 2014 in Bruach na Mara.
After the AGM the Board met to elect a
Chairman and co-opt Directors onto the
Board.
The new Board of Directors is as follows:
Martin Howley, Chairman; Cathal Boyle,
Vice-Chairman; Jens Bach, Pauric
Conneely, Michael Cavanagh,
Tony Byrne, Pete McBride, Ciaran
Doherty, Eamonn McHugh.
3
The requirements of the landings obligation are
contained in Articles 15 and 16 of the CFP
Regulation 1380/2013. The discards ban only
applies to TACs and quotas species.The only
other fish not subject to this requirement have
been identified as:
Prohibited species
Fisheries/fish with high survival rates
Catches below de-minimus
Prohibited species are straightforward; there is a
list which should be adhered to irrespective of
the landings obligation. Fish targeted by purse-
seiners appear to have high survival rates when
caught but this is variable and dependant on a
number of factors such as weather conditions,
crowding density and varies from species to
species. The de minimus exemption is more
complicated and there is an overall upper limit of
5 per cent of total annual catches after four years
with a 7% limit for years one and two and 6%
for years three and four.; it shall apply where
increases in selectivity are very difficult to achieve
or the costs of handling unwanted catches are
disproportionately high. In the latter case the de
minimus applied is for specific fishing gear and
must not exceed an established percentage of
the total annual catch as indicated in a plan. For
a transitional period of four years such de
minimus exemptions will be increased by two
percentage points for the first two years reducing
by one percentage point for the following two
years. Other conditions are also attached such as
rigorous documentation of catches and possible
fixing of minimum conservation reference sizes
(MCRS).
The EU Commission will impose discard plans
where none exist but is willing to engage with
Member States (MS) on drawing up such plans.
The problem lies in the complexity and variability
of the fisheries involved plus the wide
geographical spread, inter-regional relationships
and sub-groups within individual fisheries and
even MS. The various regional member state
groups such as the North Western Waters, South
Western Waters and North Sea (the
Scheveningen group) have been grappling with
the problems the landings obligation presents. As
expected, each has a different perspective and
set of priorities which are difficult to reconcile
and have refused to set up a sub group to deal
with some of the pelagic species such as
mackerel, western horse mackerel and blue
whiting..
In the context of Irish interests and the imminent
introduction of a discard ban for pelagic species,
the output from the Pelagic RAC is of
considerable interest. For more than a year the
Pelagic RAC has worked at developing a plan to
aid the EU Commission, Member States and
industry in managing the issue and issued
comprehensive recommendations in April 2014.
There are key differences between pelagic and
demersal fisheries which must be taken into
account when interpreting the Articles 15 and 16
such as the manner in which unwanted catches
are determined and how the de minimus is
applied. Pelagic fisheries are already very
selective compared to demersal and the scientific
work for pelagics does not indicate much scope
for improvement in this field. In the case of RSW
pelagic vessels unwanted catch can only be
determined when fish is landed to a processing
plant; on freezer trawlers it can be done onboard
but RSW vessels are not permitted to use sorting
machines.
The Pelagic RAC points out that the control and
enforcement of the obligation will be extremely
difficult in this environment without clear
unambiguous rules to ensure common
approaches, a level playing field and
transparency. Against such a background it
makes a series of recommendations:
Tailor the de minimus rate to the particular
species
De minimus only to be applied after sorting
and grading and/or allow sorting machines on-
board
Improved scientific evidence in the case of high
survival scenarios
Suspend the 9% inter-species flexibility for two
years
Adhere to the 10% flexibility proposed
Apply the minimum conservation reference
size (MCRS)
Control, monitoring and enforcement
o Shift the burden of proof
o Ensure activities are verifiable
o Ensure a level playing field
o Use all available tools for control and
enforcement such as observers, CCTV,
drones, self-sampling etc
The EMFF to facilitate improved
o Data collection
o Control and enforcement
o Avoidance of unwanted catches e.g. advance
acoustic imaging
o Best use of unwanted catches e.g. fishmeal
plants on-board
o Advisory Councils studies
The Pelagic RAC concludes that all these
measures need to be reviewed after a maximum
of two years. During that time there needs to be
real and pro-active consultation with
stakeholders. Finally, in all cases, force majeure
must be an available option and invoked as
necessary to protect the safety of both crew and
vessel.
Pelagic Discards Ban only six months away
The landings obligation or, as it is more commonly known, the discards
ban, comes into force for small pelagic and large pelagic fish on 1 January
2015. It will apply to the species Irish vessels are very familiar with:
mackerel, herring, horse mackerel, blue whiting, boarfish, argentine and
albacore tuna. The landings obligation will be extended to other species in
a gradual manner over the following years until all affected species are
included by 1 January 2019.
2 July NWWRAC & ICES Advice, WG 3 & 4 Edinburgh
3 July NWWRAC Executive Committee, WG 1 & 2 Edinburgh
9 July Pelagic RAC, WG 1 & 2 Amsterdam
10 July Pelagic RAC Executive Committee Amsterdam
14 July Fisheries Council Brussels
23 July Whitefish Quota Meeting Dublin
Discard Sub-Group Meeting
FIF/SFPA Meeting
2 August Blessing of the Fleet Killybegs
26 Aug 1 Sept ICES WGWIDE (pelagic stocks) Copenhagen
3 September SFPA Consultative Committee Galway
15 September Fisheries Council Strasbourg
17 September NWWRAC General Assembly/AGM Dublin
18 September NWWRAC WG/Focus Groups Dublin
22 24 SeptemberICES ADGWIDE (pelagic stocks) Copenhagen
Important Dates July - September 2014
The information launch of the
proposed Bio-marine Ingredients plant in
Killybegs on 9 May last marked a huge mile-
stone not alone for the fishing industry and
Killybegs but for all seafood production in
Ireland. It represents a completely new departure
for the marine sector in Donegal. This plant will
be the largest and most up-to-date of its kind in
the world (see article page 1) and will produce a
most sought-after range of products completely
attuned to the 21st century lifestyle. Irish
seafood will have gone in one step from the
most basic to the most advanced and will be
poised to move even further as future
developments in the bioactive ingredients
business, particularly the field of next-generation
pharmaceutical products, come on-stream. The
Killybegs Fishermens Organisation is committed
to developing and advancing all sea fisheries
issues of relevance to its members and
diversification and the establishment of new
high-value activities such as this, is a
key part of our remit. This endeavour is a prime
example of finding a more profitable outlet for
boarfish, our latest sustainable species to be
exploited.
During the more down-to-earth phase of this
development there will be a much-needed boost
to employment in the Killybegs area with the
construction of this Norwegian-designed clean
process plant. We are very conscious of our
responsibilities to the community at large but can
assure them this plant will not create any
nuisance by way of noise, water pollution or
smells. Further along we plan to work closely
with local and regional 3rd level colleges and
institutions to develop further products which
w i l l
ensure
h i g h
g r a d e
employment continues for the young people of
south Donegal.
I am delighted with the latest ruling from the
European Court of Justice on the safety tonnage
appeals brought by KFO members and
congratulate them on their perseverance over
such a lengthy period and the setbacks
encountered in their legitimate applications for
safety tonnage. It is now time the Commission
brought this matter to a satisfactory conclusion
for all concerned.
On the fishing front the discards ban will shortly
be a reality for our pelagic fleet; all small pelagic
fish and albacore tuna will be affected by the
landings obligation on 1 January 2015 six
months away! (see article page three). All the
major fishing organisations, including the
Regional Advisory Councils, the Scheveningen
group from the North Sea coastal states and our
own Discards Implementation Group led by Dr
Noel Cawley have been working on
management options to mitigate the effects of
the ban but, seeing it is the first sector to
experience the reality, the Pelagic RAC has been
very keen to produce recommendations to assist
all parties in this work. As outlined in the article
mentioned, there are strategies which can
mitigate the worst of the challenges but the
support of the EMFF will be crucial in this area.
The EMFF was finalised and adopted with EU
Regulation 508/2014 in June. We must
congratulate Minister Simon Coveney on his
Editorial
by Sean ODonoghue
C H I E F E X E C U T I V E , K F O
4
Head Office: Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation Ltd.,
Bruach na Mara, St. Catherine's Road, Killybegs, Co. Donegal.
Tel: (074) 9731 089, (074) 9731 305, Fax: (074) 9731 577,
Email: kfo@kfo.ie Website: www.kfo.ie
Dublin Office Tel: (01) 825 8846, Fax: (01) 825 8847
hard work and tenacity in securing this much
needed funding. It is in sharp contrast to
funding under the old programme with
Minister Coveney this time around achieving
a doubling of previous funding. Seafood
production has been growing in Ireland in line
with market demand over the last three years
and this much needed funding will be a catalyst
in achieving the seafood targets as set out in the
BIM strategy and Harvest 2020. This funding
could not have come at a better time.
The CFP agreed last June has placed new
obligations on the fishing sector and identifies
the producer organisations as the key player in
achieving the new CFP objectives. The 148
million will be spent on areas such as scientific
data collection, development of the sector, the
implementation of the landing obligation and
production and marketing plans which all
producer organisations have to prepare and
implement on an annual basis. The large increase
in funding makes it much easier to meet the new
mandatory funding requirements for the
preparation and implementation of the
production and marking plans and at the same
time increasing the funding to the other areas.
The ICES advice for some demersal and herring
stocks was issued on the June 30 (see article
page two). Some of the large decreases are
unexpected such as cod in the Celtic Sea and
herring in the north west and, in my view, are
highly questionable. As in previous years the
Commission will now make its proposals for the
2015 TACs and quotas in October based on this
advice. These proposals will, I expect, not make
for good reading from an Irish perspective. The
final decision on next years TACs and quotas will
be taken at the December Fisheries Council and
it is already shaping up to be a very difficult
Council.
The European and Irish pelagic industry is aghast
at the proposed lifting of trade sanctions by the
Commission against the Faroe Islands less than
a year since they were imposed and in time for
them to exploit this years fishery. The sanctions
were implemented last year in response to their
unsustainable fishing practices for herring and
their setting of a unilateral quota of nearly four
times their traditional share (around 105,000
tonnes). Now the Faroe Islands has announced a
quota level for herring at 40,000 tonnes for
2014, which while lower than last years catch, is
still double the figure they should be allocated
under the previous Coastal States agreement.
This action by the EU will set back negotiations
and undermine trust among the Coastal States
yet again.
The European Parliament elections have been
held and, in Irelands case, there have been
significant changes. The Irish fishing industry has
lost a friend and champion in Pat the Cope
Gallagher who, as a very active member of the
Fisheries Committee, managed to get agreement
in the Parliament on many changes in
regulations which were of benefit to the Irish
seafood sector. We would to thank him for his
support and wish him well in the future.